Liu and his classmates pose for a photo at their graduation ceremony at the University of Manchester in 2019. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

Publishing an autobiography, graduating from a world-renowned university, becoming an entrepreneur in China's Silicon Valley ... At 27, wheelchair-bound Liu Daming with a body no larger than that of a young child has achieved it all, setting an inspirational benchmark for the country's disabled population.

Liu has osteogenesis imperfecta, or OI, a rare genetic disorder that renders an individual's bones extremely fragile. But Liu now sits in a newly furnished office in Beijing's Zhongguancun, working to develop an interest-based app and make short videos about his life and thoughts.

"I hope to create a positive influence," says Liu. "My story is to demonstrate the fact that life is full of possibilities."

I hope to create a positive influence. My story is to demonstrate the fact that life is full of possibilities

Liu Daming, founder of Axis, a tech company based in Beijing, who has osteogenesis imperfecta

Born into a military family in Northwest China's Gansu province, Liu had a childhood marked by pain－as an OI patient, sometimes nicknamed "china doll" for his brittle bones and stunted body, he had undergone 11 major surgeries before the age of 18.

During his school years, Liu studied harder than most of his peers, hoping his excellent academic record could win the recognition of others and reverse their negative impressions of his limited physical abilities.

After two leg surgeries at the age of 15, Liu was encased in plaster up to his chest. After lying in bed "like a mummy" for 183 days, a new outlook dawned on him.

"In those days I had three feelings: Unbearable pain, incessant itches and a sense of incapability," he says. "It was also then that I finally accepted myself as being different, realizing that my previous urge to blend in with others was defective."

The epiphany drove Liu to pursue a life of his own. He made three wishes that no one at the time believed were possible: undergo surgery that could help him live as long as a healthy person, write a book to record his life and bring strength to others, and be educated in a top university.

The first turned out to be the toughest. Years of sedentary study had deformed his fragile spine into a curve that squeezed his organs and threatened his life, but doctors refused his surgery request, citing the extreme danger involved, and instead prescribed him bed rest for 20 hours a day, just to be able to live for a few more years.

"Sometimes when fate closes a door, it will move on to seal the window. But if your resolve is firm enough, you can always find a way out," he says.

The defiant teenager translated his condition into English and wrote an email pleading for help globally. Finally, in 2012, an Italian specialist agreed to carry out the dangerous surgery, which implanted over a dozen screws and rods to prop up his spine and save him from certain death.

After the surgery, Liu set out to record his life-or-death experience in Beyond the Destiny, published a year later. The autobiography made him the youngest author to publish a book through the People's Publishing House, one of the largest publishing companies in China.

In 2019, Liu graduated from the University of Manchester, where he studied psychology, fulfilling his third childhood wish.

Upon graduation, he turned down his supervisor's proposal for him to pursue postgraduate studies, instead opting for a more challenging path－returning to China to build a startup.

Liu aspires to spread positive energy to more people via his unique life experiences, and believes China's favorable entrepreneurial environment has all the "winds and waves to move my small boat over the sea ahead".

His company Axis went into operation last year, and in February, he posted his first short video narrating his 26-year tug-of-war with fate. "The many screws and metal rods implanted in my body have made me an Iron Man in reality," he says in the video.

On instant messaging app WeChat, the video has garnered over 15,000 comments. A mother with two children suffering from the same illness thanked Liu for rekindling her sense of hope.

Behind the scenes, Liu's proposal to offer regular skills training to help people with disabilities find jobs has been accepted by a college in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region. He also hopes his presence in Zhongguancun, a stronghold for high-caliber young entrepreneurs, can bolster confidence among China's 85-million-strong disabled population.

"I may be the first person in Zhongguancun to start a company from a wheelchair, but I won't be the last," he says. "I hope my example will encourage more people, disabled or not, to live a worthy life."